Description:
Kevin Smith was born in Auckland in 1963. His mother was of Tongan ancestry and his father (of British descent) hailed from New Zealand. Smith's family moved to the South Island town of Timaru when he was eleven. He attended Timaru Boys' High School from 1976 to 1979. He was involved in the drama club at his high school. Smith played in rock and roll bands during high school, working out each morning at the gym and watching television in the afternoon. He enjoyed painting and loved rugby and hoped to become a member of New Zealand's world-famous rugby team, the All Blacks. At the age of 17, Smith moved to Christchurch, where he
Kevin Smith was born in Auckland in 1963. His mother was of Tongan ancestry and his father (of British descent) hailed from New Zealand. Smith's family moved to the South Island town of Timaru when he was eleven. He attended Timaru Boys' High School from 1976 to 1979. He was involved in the drama club at his high school. Smith played in rock and roll bands during high school, working out each morning at the gym and watching television in the afternoon. He enjoyed painting and loved rugby and hoped to become a member of New Zealand's world-famous rugby team, the All Blacks. At the age of 17, Smith moved to Christchurch, where he lived in a flat above a fruit shop, worked at various jobs, and considered joining the police in order to help children, before enrolling in Canterbury University at the age of 20. In 1986 he married his high school sweetheart, Suzanne (Sue), with whom he had three sons: Oscar, Tyrone and Willard.
Early in 2002 Smith (who was preparing for his first Hollywood role in the Bruce Willis action film Tears of the Sun) went to China to shoot the US-Chinese martial arts film Warriors of Virtue 2, which would allow him to work with the stuntman from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
On 6 February 2002 Smith completed his work on the set in Shijiazhuang, 270 km south-west of Beijing. After celebrating with staff from Beijing Film Studio, and while waiting for a ride back to the hotel, he decided to walk around the Central China Television film studio grounds, and climbed a prop tower on the set of another film. He lost his footing and fell several stories, suffering severe head injuries. Smith was rushed by staff to a local hospital, then transferred to Beijing. He lapsed into a coma and was kept on life support for ten days until life support was discontinued. He died on 15 February without regaining consciousness.
Smith was buried after a private funeral on 28 February 2002. The launch of the Kevin Smith Trust for Smith's children was announced later that day at a memorial service attended by old friends, New Zealand's acting community, and over a thousand mourners at the Aotea Centre, Auckland. A television documentary celebrating Smith's life and career, Remembering Kev: A Tribute to Kevin Smith, aired on TV2 on the first anniversary of his death.
... (more)
(less)
My tags:
Add tags
Login
New Zealand
